Djokovic advances to fourth round at Australian Open

“Simon plays every match like that. She doesn’t give you many angles”.

He knows exactly what he’s doing out there, and it worked nearly to the very end.

Federer, however, was not prepared to allow the 25-year-old Goffin, who anchored his country to last year’s Davis Cup final against Britain, such leeway when they began their match.

There was a brief delay when rain showers hit the court with the roof open before the 12th game.

All this considered, the fact still remains that Djokovic relishes the Rod Laver Arena more than any other player and should edge Federer in tight 5 sets and have a head to head lead over the Swiss for the first time in his career.

The Russian had racked up a career-high 21 aces in her fourth-round match but her serve deserted her when she needed it most in the 10th game and Williams broke to win the first set before racing away with the second. I really enjoy being able to come to the net more like back in the day. In terms of a level that I’ve played, it’s [a] match to forget for me.

“I’m pleased with how I played”, said Federer. “I was returning well, so that made it tough for him to have a good serve all the time”.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a scare against Gilles Simon to reach the last eight of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

This is the 3rd straight major tournament that Djokovic and Federer will face off at, although in this case a round earlier.

After conceding the third set 6-4, Simon came from behind for the second time in the match to force the contest into a deciding set, where Djokovic regained his composure to eventually secure a 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win in the Rod Laver Arena. The last point counts.

With the semifinal matchup against Federer coming up, tennis fans will be treated to one of the premiere rivalries in the sport today. The Swiss great fought back to take the match in a tiebreak closing out in four sets 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) with his 18th ace at 9:37 pm local time.

“There’s no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and getting my game in a better position than any previous round”.

Asia’s No 1 raced to a 3-1 lead on the back of two breaks in the third set, but Djokovic reined him in with two breaks of his own, grabbing a third before finishing the Japanese off with a crunching backhand victor after just over two hours.

Asked if he could remember a similar performance, Djokovic said: “Not even close”.

“Its not like I think about what I can do worse.

It is that time again.

Djokovic said: “When you are playing against a player like Gilles, you expect long rallies. It doesn’t concern me for the next one”.

Djokovic started shakily, scrambling to save seven of eight break points in the opening set.

“It would mean a lot to me -no doubt about it”, he said. A lot of lines also.

“Roger always makes you play your best”. When you talk about them, I’m depressed already. Kerber broke Konta’s serve in the 11th game, and held in the next to take the set in 49 minutes. “So I’m sure I’ll be fine”. Djokovic won five of those meetings and will be the favorite heading into tomorrow’s semifinal clash. The Serb will face 17-Times Grand Slam champion Federer, who he beat for the US Open and Wimbledon titles a year ago.